1. Field of the Invention
Devices, systems, and methods consistent with the invention relate to a method and apparatus of selecting welding parameters and electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Welding requires the use of welding electrodes. Because of the wide variations and differences in each welding application, welding electrodes have widely varying characteristics. For example, welding electrodes have varying diameters and chemical compositions. Additionally, some electrodes are self-shielding (e.g., FCAW), while others are solid metal electrodes. With these widely varying characteristics, the use of the proper electrode for a particular welding operation is important to ensuring that a satisfactory weld is achieved. However, because some of these differences, such as chemical composition, are not easily discernable by the naked eye or even upon close examination it can be difficult for a welder to properly distinguish between welding electrodes.
In an effort to properly identify welding electrodes, very often the electrode packaging contains the needed identification information. Welding electrodes are stored by various means. For example, welding electrodes are often found on spools of varying lengths (e.g., MIG welding), bundles of individual electrodes (e.g., stick and TIG welding) and large containers (e.g., robotic welding, etc.). However, identification of the properties and characteristics of the electrode merely from the packaging can also be difficult. For example, if a package is placarded with the information regarding an electrode, it is typically done so in a standard font or type which is not easily readable from afar. Additionally, the identification information packaging (such as spools or boxes) can be compromised or otherwise rendered illegible because of the environments in which welding takes place. Thus, even when the electrode packaging contains electrode information, easy identification of the electrode can be difficult. Additionally, once an electrode is removed from its packaging it can be very difficult to determine the properties of the electrode.
As is also known, to perform a proper welding operation it is necessary to set the welding power supply at the proper operational welding settings. These welding settings can include, but are not limited to: wire feed speed, voltage, and amperage. Many factors of the welding operation to be performed affect the settings to be used. For example, the size and type of the electrode, the type of the material to be welded and the thickness of the material to be welded may affect the settings that are to be used for the welding operation. Thus, it is often important for these settings to be properly adjusted prior to the welding operation beginning. These adjustments often require the welder (i.e., operator) to manually adjust controls on the power supply to obtain the proper settings.
Because of the nature of these controls and the potential for misidentifying the characteristics of the electrode, there is a possibility that a welder would input the wrong settings, resulting in an improper weld. Additionally, because of the limitations on current electrode packaging, as discussed above, it is difficult to easily inventory or otherwise identify welding electrodes.
Accordingly, an improved welding electrode selection and identification method is needed.